Good news for sour beer lovers: it’s almost that time of year when you’ll see two of Victory’s wildly popular seasonal brews—Kirsch Gose and Sour Monkey—on tap at your favorite bar or on the shelves of your local bottle shop.

The deal comes at a time when craft breweries are being snatched up by macro brewers at an increasing rate and at bigger and bigger price tags. Victory brewmaster and owner Bill Covaleski tells Russell, “For us to sit and see the competitive clouds forming on the horizon, and just fold our arms as if nothing was happening, that would be irresponsible.”

Now that it’s looking like most of us will be snowed in this weekend, it’s time to take a peek in your fridge. You’ve got the milk and eggs, but do you have the beer? If not, now’s the time to stock up—but before you head to your local bottle shop, check out this list of some of our favorite winter beers.

The brewpub at the Victory Brewing Co. in Parkesburg | All photographs by Bradley Maule

Now that the owners of Victory Brewing have unveiled their newest brewery and restaurant to the public (it opened today for lunch), beer fans can eat, drink and learn at the biggest and most eco-friendly of their two brewery and three brewpub locations. Two years after beginning to brew out of Parkesburg, in Chester County, visitors can finally tour the EPA-approved brewery and relax at the two-story pub part of the brewpub that captivates the eye with 350 seats and a whole lot of reclaimed wood.

The annual Witch CRAFT Beer Crawl is happening Wednesday, October 21 from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. along East Passyunk. Tickets, which go for a devilish $6.66 each gets you a witch hat, access to $3 Victory and Troegs beers plus a Witch CRAFT Stamp Card, which attendees can fill for the chance to win $375 in gift certificates to participating bars and restaurants.

15 bars are participating in the crawl, each offering at least two beers at $3 each. Among the beers being offered seasonal offerings such as Troegs Hop Knife Harvest Ale and Victory Festbier and Moonglow Weizenbock. Participating bars and restaurants will also be offering food at special prices. Cider lovers can also look for a special red-apple blended Bold Rock hard cider at participating locations.

That expanded distribution is just one of the reasons we’re excited that Forest & Main is also adding space. The Ambler brewpub is adding capacity and a tasting room in the adjacent warehouse. In addition to more capacity, the expansion will pave the way for some barrel aged beers.

The Downingtown-based Victory Brewing Company has officially opened Victory at Magnolia. It’s on Cypress Street in Kennett Square in a new development that’s still under construction but so far includes townhouses and apartments. The surroundings aren’t so exciting: There’s a Rite Aid on one corner; a dance academy and a dry cleaner across the street; and not too much else in the immediate vicinity. But inside the seven-barrel brewery, Victory’s president and brewmaster Bill Covaleski spoke to an opening-day crowd with plenty of enthusiasm about the future for the location, which will feature, he said, plenty of site-specific beers. In fact, Covaleski told us he might one day make a mushroom beer, though he admitted that could be a tough sell.

The food menu is finely tuned for “beer enjoyment,” he said, and made from the freshest local ingredients—including, of course, plenty of mushrooms. The chef comes to the 220-seat restaurant from Victory’s Downingtown location, and is relishing this opportunity to create a new menu.Read more »

Golden Monkey is not just one of the best beers that Victory makes, it’s one of the best beers out there, period. It’s all weird and spicy and fruity and eff’s you up like there was opium dissolved in it. We can all agree on that, right?

And in terms of the great breakfast foods of the world, waffles have to be at the top of every sane person’s list. And Belgian waffles should rank even higher.

What happens when three of Philly’s strangest favorite local businesses get together for a one-night-only collaboration? Fan-crazed mayhem and food-induced comas resulting from donut and fried chicken inspired pizza and ice cream, that’s what.